What to do if you’ve been involved in a crash

by Matt de Neef

No cyclist ever wants to be involved in a crash but regardless of how cautious or skilled you are on the bike, there’s every chance you’ll be involved in a crash with a motorist at some point (if you haven’t already). We spoke to some people in the know to find out what you should do if you find yourself in such a situation.

You’re just riding along on your way to work when a car pulls out of a side street, knocking you off your bike. You notice that, thankfully, the motorist has pulled over. What do you do?

Manage the shock

As Garry Brennan from Bicycle Network told us, your first and most important challenge is to manage your own shock.

“

“Unless you have had a crash it is hard to imagine just how difficult it is to keep your wits about you, to stay level-headed and to manage your predicament. You have had a big fright, you could be hurting and injured, you could be dealing with someone who has every intention of ensuring they are never made accountable for their crash-causing actions, you might be dealing with police, ambulance, witnesses — its all just a blur.”

Get off the road

To quote State Bicycle Operations Coordinator Sergeant Arty Lavos, “In all instances your primary objective is to make sure that there is no further risk to yourself or anyone else.”

If you’re able to pick yourself up, get yourself and your bike off the road and deal with the situation from there. You don’t want to stay on the road and risk further injury. But if you’re concerned about the possibility of spinal injuries, don’t move — you could risk further and more serious injury.

Assess yourself for injuries

Your first priority should always be your health — everything else can be sorted out later. If you think you need medical attention, don’t hesitate in calling an ambulance. And if you’re unable to make the call, ask someone nearby to do so for you (if they haven’t already).

If you’ve managed to avoid serious injury, be ready to assess the situation, take a deep breath, and act calmly.

Exchange contact details

If you’re ready and able to act, approach the driver of the vehicle. There’s every chance you’ve got reason to be upset, but confronting them aggressively won’t help the situation. Be as calm as you can and get the information you need.

You should exchange names, addresses and phone numbers with the motorist, and get their driver license number, car registration and insurance details if you can. Note down the time of the incident and where it occurred. If you don’t have a pen and paper with you, just take the details down on your smartphone, or take photos of licenses and registration plates.

Look for witnesses

While you’re talking with the driver have a look around to see if anyone else has witnessed the accident. If they have, exchange contact details with them.

Getting a witness to provide their analysis of the situation can be very valuable if the motorist changes their story after the accident. You want to avoid it being a case of your word against the motorist’s so it’s worth trying to get someone else to back you up.

Have a look around for fellow cyclists as well, on the off chance that one of them has a camera mounted to their helmet or handlebars. This might sound unlikely, but on my very first day of wearing a helmet camera to work I saw someone get doored. The cyclist saw that I had a camera on my helmet and asked if he could have a copy of the video to use in future negotiations.

Have a quick look around to see if there are CCTV cameras in the area as well. If there are, let the police know so they can contact the operators to get the relevant footage.

Take photos and notes

Any information you can collect at the time and place of the accident could be valuable later on. Take photos of any injuries you sustained, any damage your bike or the other vehicle might have sustained, and any damage to your clothing or helmet.

If you decide to take photos of other people involved in the accident, bear in mind that some people aren’t receptive to having their photo taken. But, as long as the accident happened on public property, you’re well within your rights to take photos of other people and there’s no law (in Australia) to stop you from doing so.

Tell your side of the story to the police

If anyone is injured in a road accident, or if there’s damage to property and the owner isn’t present, the police should be called.

With that in mind, and if you aren’t too badly injured, call the police and wait for them to arrive. Even if it’s cold and inconvenient and even if the driver has left you should stick around to tell your side of the story.

A police report is very important when it comes to insurance claims, Transport Accident Commission (TAC) claims and ensuring the motorist is followed up for any misdemeanours he or she has committed.

Damian Lynch, a lawyer from Maurice Blackburn gave us this additional advice: “Ask for the name and station details of any police that attend. If police don’t attend you must report the accident to police before you lodge a TAC claim.”

If police did arrive, give as much detail to them as you can. Don’t tell them what you think happened — say what you saw and heard, even if it’s not as damning as you’d like it to be. Ask for a copy of the report afterwards. And if you give formal statement (you’ll have to sign it if it’s a formal statement) get a copy of that too — it can be a pain to get a copy later on and might cost you money.

Head to hospital or a doctor

Once the police have left the scene of the accident, it’s worth reassessing your injuries. Immediately after an accident your body can go into shock and the adrenaline can mask a lot of pain. You might find that after going through the steps above, you realise that you’re injured more badly than you first thought.

“Getting medical attention is not a bad idea as a lot of injuries may appear a few days later. It’s a good idea to get checked out for any immediate serious injuries to negate any further complications down the track.”

Even if it’s a minor injury you should go to a doctor or hospital straight away to get looked at. Ask for a list of the injuries you’ve sustained — a report like this will almost certainly be required if you lodge a claim with the TAC or pursue legal avenues against the motorist. Better to get the report when the injuries at their worst.

Get a quote for any damages to your bike

Once you’re well enough and able to do so, head to a local bike shop and get them to assess any damage that your bike and equipment (including helmet and clothing) might have sustained. Don’t try fixing anything yourself — take it to the shop in the condition it was after the crash. Get the LBS to give you a quote for the repairs. This will be valuable when negotiating a settlement with the motorist or pursuing your legal options.

If possible, get quotes from a couple of bike shops and use the lowest quote in any negotiations. It will dispel any concerns that you’ve got a mate at the bike shop writing higher quotes for you, and it will also show that you’re negotiating in good faith.

If you have insurance for your bike this would be a good time to get in touch with the insurers and make a claim, assuming that’s what you want to do.

Lodge a TAC (or equivalent) claim if necessary

As mentioned above, the TAC is a Victorian Government organisation that insures people that are injured in transport accidents. If you were injured in the accident and you’ve incurred medical costs, it’s worth lodging a TAC claim, or equivalent if you live in a different state or territory.

Bear in mind that you can lodge a claim to the TAC even if you’re not struck by a vehicle — you’re also covered if you get doored, if you’re dazzled by car headlights and crash, or if you are cut off, crash and get injured. Just remember that you’ll need a medical report.

Be sure to lodge the claim within 12 months of the accident — it can be a hassle to do so after this time.

Choose how you’d like to proceed

After going through all of the steps above it’s worth sitting down and assessing your options. Was the accident the fault of the motorist? If so, you’ve essentially got three options in how you can deal with them.

1. Do nothing

If your bike and equipment wasn’t damaged and the TAC will cover any medical costs you might have incurred then you might choose not to follow up with the motorist, even if the crash was their fault.

2. If your bike and equipment were damaged then it’s probably worth approaching the motorist in the days after the crash in the hope of getting them to cover repair or replacement costs. This might be done with a letter of demand, including the quote for repairs as provided by your local bike shop.

If you’re unable to come to some agreement with the motorist then you might want to think about option 3.

3. Seek legal advice.

Damian Lynch from Maurice Blackburn gave us the following advice:

“You can claim for property damage against whoever caused the damage to your bike, clothing or accessories. Drivers are often insured. This claim is separate to any TAC claim. Take good quality photos of damage including any damage to your helmet.”

It could also be worth getting legal advice if your TAC claim is rejected. But act quickly — while decisions by the TAC can be challenged, this has to be done soon after the decision.

***

The steps listed above might seem daunting at first but as Garry Brennan from Bicycle Network told us, “If you do a lot of riding you should mentally rehearse these guidelines, and try and commit the key steps to memory so you are not completely at sea in the event that you hit the deck in traffic.”

And while it’s important to be prepared for an accident there are also a handful of things you can do right now to protect yourself in the event of a future accident. Sergeant Arty Lavos gave this advice:

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“The best prevention is ride within your limits and the environment, pick a route that you feel comfortable on, prepare your bike and yourself for the ride and always scan and think of what’s ahead.

Riding a bike is no different to driving a car — you need to be concentrating, you need to obey the laws and you need to be courteous to all other road users.

Another good option is to investigate insurance for your bike.

Bike insurance

While the TAC will cover “reasonable medical expenses” that you attract through a transport accident, they won’t pay for any damages to your bike. If a crash you’re involved in is the fault of a motorist, the motorist might cover the cost of damages. But if the fault is yours, or you’re involved in an accident that doesn’t involve a motorist or other party you won’t be covered for any damages, unless you have insurance.

If you do choose to buy bike insurance — and if you can afford a $5,000+ bike you can afford insurance! — be sure to read through several policies carefully before deciding. Find out what you will be covered for, what you won’t covered for, whether you’ll be covered if you take down another cyclist or cause damage to a parked car, and so on.

The issue of bike insurance is more than worthy of an article of its own and here’s one such article.

If you haven’t already, consider adding an ICE (“In case of emergency”) number to your phone. No-one wants to think that they’ll be involved in an accident but if you are, and you aren’t able to communicate for whatever reason, it’s worth having the number programmed into your phone, under the name “ICE”, for someone to find.

These wristbands are available from a range of suppliers and can cost as little as $20. You can have them inscribed with vital information such as your name, address, blood type, any allergies you might have, medical conditions and the phone numbers of people to contact if you’ve been involved in a serious accident.

At the end of the day, no-one wants to be involved in a road accident, whether you’re a driver, a motorcyclist, or a cyclist, and regardless of whether you’re the one at fault or not. But as the most vulnerable of road users, we cyclists need to take extra care to protect ourselves and be prepared if we are ever involved in an accident.

Have you been involved in an accident with a motorist before? How did the situation unfold and what lessons did you learn from it? Would you add anything to the list above?

This is an updated and expanded edition of an article first published on CyclingTips in 2009. Thanks to Boyd Furmston, Garry Brennan, Sergeant Arty Lavos and Damian Lynch for their advice and guidance in putting this article together.

great article. the problem with taking legal action against motorists is that you are basically restricted to claiming for property damage only (this is probably not quite true – i’m sure there are exceptions and/or technicalities that i’m oversimplifying), as the TAC are liable for injury-related costs. this is often not enough to justify hiring a lawyer, who typically come at significant expense. at this point, many people give up – but they needn’t. trafflic law isn’t constitutional law – it’s pretty straightforward. you can represent yourself in magistrate’s court – a mate of mine recently did, with great success.

needless to say – having camera footage, or a witness, may prove invaluable.

Dave

Make sure you tell the police that you have had a camera recording at the time, surprise evidence presented at a later date won’t get admitted in court.

Don’t mention it to the police or insurer if you mount it (or a light) on your helmet though, that makes your helmet non-compliant and will chuck the liability for your injuries (which is partially separate to the liability for the collision) back in your direction.

jules

i don’t agree with the liability advice. the Australian Standard for helmets – which advises against mounting stuff on them – is enforced under the road rules. breaching that standard is just a breach of the road rules – that certainly won’t limit insurance coverage.

i’d argue that the matter of whether breaching the AS is a breach of the road rules is not straightforward. the AS is set up to apply to manufacturers seeking type approval of a helmet, which qualifies them for the all-important little sticker. if you have an identical helmet without the sticker – you will get fined. ergo, the sticker is all that matters :-)

Dave

The sticker means squat if you’ve modified it yourself and made it non-compliant, no amount of primary school level logic is going to change that.

I was just going for the rule that not wearing a legal helmet reduces a claim. If you want to turn it into a breach of the road rules then go for it, that has the even worse possibility of completely invalidating the claim.

jules

you have a point on the helmet standard and i was being a bit tongue-in-cheek, but you’ve got the wrong idea on insurance coverage. it doesn’t work like that.

Dave

It does work that way in SA. If you are being influenced by drugs/alcohol, breaking the law, not wearing a seatbelt (cars), not wearing a legal helmet (bikes) or more than 25% liable for the collision then your claim is reduced and you may be required to pay an excess.

jules

respect for providing details – interesting. however that’s not quite it, SA says that 25% reduction applies “where the failure to wear a helmet has contributed to the accident or the extent of the injury”. wearing a laundry bucket would probably qualify in the latter case, but mounting a camera.. most will just break away in a collision.

there doesn’t appear to be any such caveat in Vic TAC law, nor for general breaches of the road rules (with exceptions, e.g. drunk driving) – it’s a no-blame system.

Arfy

Attaching something to a helmet is not the same as modifying it. If you were to change the structure of the helmet then that’s different, but attaching an object to it doesn’t change the helmet itself. However the Australian Standard does require the helmet supplier to include the following statement in a brochure or label:
“No attachments should be made to the helmet except those recommended by the helmet manufacturer.”

Other than this warning requirement for the supplier, I couldn’t find any clarification that an attachment actually voids the AS. Neither could I find a reference that clearly shows attaching a light or camera to a helmet will have any legal implications, I’m wondering if anyone can help clarify this point?

jules

i had the standard somewhere, can’t find it, but i think you’re right from memory – the requirement is written as applying to the manufacturer, not the user. i deal with regulations professionally and am confident/have been advised that this is a material difference in the eyes of the law.

Sean

If you are at all injured, call an ambulance. This has the added benefit of requiring the Police to attend the scene (in NSW at least).

Arfy

Call either an ambulance or police, they’ll call each other in. You should ALWAYS take the ambulance regardless of whether you think you’re injured or not as there have been problems with personal injury claims if you don’t. And I think in most States you’re covered by compulsory third-party insurance for an accident on a public roadway.

It Sucks

In Victoria always call an Ambulance because the Police will not attend an accident if no one is hurt or there is no danger to the public, ie the road is blocked. If you are ok but the driver wont give their details this is the only way o get the Police to attend. If you call the Police (000) and say you have been involved in an accident and the driver wont give the details you will be advised to take down the registration and report it to a Police station. (the driver will deny it and case closed as far as the Police are concerned) Then you will be turned away until your injuries have been assessed and told to come back later. If you call an Ambulance the Police are also dispatched meaning that they will get the details of all parties involved. Call the Police direct and you will be waiting hours if no Ambulance

Tony Breeds

Last year I was knocked off my bike by a car. It could have been much worse. During discussion with my insurer I was told that if I had the address of the driver then they could waive the excess fee on my claim. I’m sure this will be insurer dependant.

Dave

What happens there is that your insurer makes a claim for the excess against the other party’s insurer (who will pass it on to the other party) or against them directly. You can make this claim yourself if you are required to pay an excess, but you need to know who you’re claiming against regardless of whether it’s you or your insurer making the claim.

Oakie

I had the pleasurable experience of hearing the crack of Carbon on Bonnet once. I’d like to add some points:

1) Don’t always assume the driver is ok and will contest culpability for crash. In the incident I refer to above, the cyclist was entirely at fault (riding up a one way street, the wrong way, on the pavement- nice!). After talking to the cyclist to make sure he was ok, I took one look at the driver who was clearly in trouble – white, cold sweat, getting wobbly, classic shock symptoms.

2) No one should be allowed to leave the scene for a while, regardless of whether contact details have been exchanged. The adrenaline will still be charging, sit down, take 5, 10, 15 or whatever is required. Getting on your way straight way is likely to lead to another
accident.

5:05pm: Ian Humphrey is struck and killed.
5:05pm: A car was ahead of McGee travelling in the same direction. The driver saw the impact in his rear view mirror. His wife noted the registration number of McGee’s vehicle and telephoned police.
5:08pm: Benjamin & Irene Voroniansky who were driving in the opposite direction stop and call an ambulance. They estimate the speed of the Mitsubishi Pajero leaving the scene to be 90–100 km/h (56–62 mph).
5:11pm: Eugene McGee makes the first of three phone calls to his lawyer David Edwardson.
5:33pm: Phones his wife Barbara.
5:37pm: Phones his brother Craig.
5:42pm: Phones his mother Marjorie.
5:50pm: Phones his brother Craig. Police attend the home of Eugene McGee.
5:50 – 6:46pm: McGee makes six phone calls to relatives.
6:49pm: Craig McGee phones Eugene McGee.
6:50pm: Police attended Eugene McGee’s mothers house in Kapunda and speak to Craig McGee who informs police he has not spoken to or seen his brother and does not have his mobile phone number.
6:57pm: Craig McGee phones Eugene McGee to inform him that the police had been, are looking for him and that they know his car was involved in the accident.
7:24pm: Sergeant Mills phones McGee’s wife Barbara who tells him she hasn’t heard from McGee and doesn’t know his whereabouts.
7:30pm: Diana Gilcrist arrives at accident scene while searching for her overdue husband Ian Humphrey.
7:30pm: Craig McGee drives his brother back to Adelaide via the Kapunda/Gawler road. They are stopped at a police roadblock set up to find Eugene McGee but do not identify themselves.
7:40pm: A reporter arrived at Marjorie McGee’s house in Kapunda and finds Eugene McGee’s car there.
8:50pm: After being informed the car has been located, Police call at Marjorie McGee’s house but find it locked up with no one at home.
9:09pm: Matthew Selley phones Sergeant Mills and states he is a solicitor representing Eugene McGee. Selley requests the “state of play” with regard to the collision. Mills asks for Selleys phone number so that Sergeant Hassell can speak to him.
9:10 – 10:05pm:Sergeant Hassell makes several phone calls to Selley to make arrangements to interview Eugene McGee.
10:05pm: Police phone Selley who states Eugene McGee is willing to hand himself in the following morning.
10:10pm: Police phone Selley who gives them an address in Norwood where they can speak to McGee.
11:30pm: Police speak to McGee who reads from a prepared statement. McGee is arrested and taken to the City Watchhouse. Both Sergeant Hassell and Senior Constable Bell noted that they could smell alcohol on McGee while he was in the police car.

Oh, wait, you mean what to do if you are the *cyclist*. If you are the cyclist, you better have or be a lawyer with expertise in police accident investigation procedures.

echidna_sg

I hope they aren’t real names cobber…

Alan

Yes, real names. Google them.

Dave

All real names and real facts that were written into the public record during a Royal Commission.

I guess it helps being a well-connected barrister, the whole legal industry loves to close ranks and look after one of their own. The cops in Australia are so bent even they were in on the act, he wasn’t tested for alcohol.

jules

in fairness, i think it was his legal knowledge which helped him evade a conviction for dangerous/culpable driving. what was really bent though was the bar association not striking him off – if anyone had any doubts about what standards of behaviour lawyers really set for themselves.. well..

Dave

The difficulty the DPP had in finding a prosecutor willing to take the case contributed, Senator Nick Xenophon (a skilled lawyer in his own right) was a Member of the Legislative Council back then and he was especially concerned with the lacklustre effort put in by the prosecution.

Connections undoubtedly played a major role, both in allowing a couple of junior cops to get intimidated into not doing their job and in not getting the job done in court.

mt

Great article Matt, thanks. Road ID are also a good back up re if your phone is locked for ICE details following an accident and only about $20 – they are quite unobtrusive and very practical.
They can be ordered online

Xavier

Your ICE number can also be written on your helmet with permanent or paint marker.

Dave

The article is very Victoria-specific and Matt’s unlikely to have the expertise in how to assist people in SA, so it’s worth adding for people in SA that BikeSA members get a free first interview with their sponsors Anderson Solicitors, details of membership are online at bikesa.asn.au

Dave is the Eugene McGee case still being pursued in SA? That is a disgrace to the legal system. I know there was a petition but this needs a stronger people powered response to get politicians to change the laws do scum like McGee can’t get off scott free after he has committed manslaughter!

Dave

It’s gone through all the legal avenues, last I heard Senator Nick Xenophon was urging people to write to the Attorney-General to push through legislation to get McGee kicked out. But the legal industry are still closing ranks, the government just doesn’t have the capability to get the job done.

Matt de Neef

Great insight Dave, thanks!

Arfy

I had the unfortunate experience last year of being collected by a right-turning vehicle as he tried to beat the traffic. I was lucky it was a small car, so I was projected off the bike and onto his windshield (which caved in), rolled onto the road, and got away with just bruising and road rash. It was at a high-visibility intersection, so half a dozen kind people stopped and helped, including one lovely person who took names and addresses of witnesses and details from the driver. Police attended and I took the ambulance away from the scene (I’d been advised to do this due to TAC claim issues if you don’t, especially if there’s medical complications later). The TAC covered all my medical costs, not a problem.

The problems came afterwards – the driver wasn’t insured, and he sure wasn’t about to help replace my wrecked bike. As I didn’t have bike insurance I went to my solicitor who wrote a letter of demand (without cost which was nice of him), but of course we didn’t get a reply. I drove past the driver’s house, and even weeks later the car was still on the nature strip with the smashed windscreen – obviously he didn’t have the money to repair it. My solicitor advised me to absorb the cost of a new bike myself, as even if I took the matter further and got a court-order for him to pay, he was still unlikely to be able to fund it and I’d be out of pocket for legal costs until he paid up. So my hard lesson was to get bike insurance, and not presume every driver has insurance.

James

I was hit in the side by a turning car, which was the fault of the motorist. There were many witnesses that were thankfully quite vocal on my behalf (shouting at the car that appeared clueless) and the driver stopped. She was an elderly woman that likely shouldn’t have been behind the wheel, and we negotiated together and she gave me $100 that she had in cash. I thought that amount would cover the damage which turned out to be just a few scratches and I avoided what would have been in my case an unnecessary process of insurance and lawyers etc.

I have seen a few fellow cyclists being sideswiped, one of which saw the cyclist flip right over the car and land on his back. In all instances the motorist was clearly at fault but both parties were very calm and this definitely appeared aid conversation and exchange of information. It definitely pays to keep calm despite the shock and anger of the situation.

anon

The shock is something to watch out for. I was collected at an intersection and catapulted a fair distance. I had nothing broken or bleeding, and as I was not far from home, I walked home with my smashed bike after exchanging details. I thought I’d end up with bad bruising and little else.
Two days later, I couldn’t move due to the severe neck pain – soft tissue damage takes a while to emerge. I was off work for 3 months. Take my advice – call an ambulance and get checked out immediately.

Rob

Really good article, it can be hard to remember what to do at the time when the adrenaline is going.

My brother and I were both knocked off by a van recently, my brother flying off road and hitting a tree head on, me sliding down the road and into the van. At the time everything was a bit of a blur and with my brother unconscious in the hedge row, my concern at the time was his immediate well being. It was during this point when I was attending to him that the van driver drove off!!

No witnesses that stopped, no van driver details and both of us in hospital!!!! I suffered superficial injuries whilst my brother has had 10 weeks off work due to tearing his quad from the bone. We have since found said driver who lived locally but can do nothing about it and the driver is saying he wasn’t even in the area!!!
Always make sure to get the details!!!!

jules

there are always options.

Andy Logan

I got hit by a car and came down in North Sydney, about two years ago, stupidly didn’t call an ambo and after found out I had broken 5 bones in my back, I could barely walk at the time and went into shock before the hospital would look at me when I finally rocked up. Turns out I had sheered off 5 TVP’s on the left side of my spin and put two cracks through my L4 and L3, so yeah moral of the story, always call the ambos

Cyclists should look around for a good home contents insurance which covers bicycles.

My Vero policy costs only marginally more than my previous policy, and is only a couple of hundred dollars more than what I’ve seen quoted for a single bike.

All of my bikes are covered for theft and any accidental damage, anywhere in the world, including whilst racing. Only bikes over $10,000 need to be declared – all others are automatically covered. The only thing that isn’t covered is clothing and helmet damage in a crash.

Ross

ALWAYS call an ambulance… They take you to the hospital, get immediate scans. Especially important if you’ve broken bones or have major cuts/bruises.

Although they will always cut the straps of your helmet, regardless of if it’s been hit or not.

Lauren

I’ve got a free-for-download ICE app on my phone (a HTC so android). It’s got all my details in it – my full name, blood type, if I’m an organ donor, date of birth, address and who needs to be contacted – and it can be accessed even if my phone is locked (I’ve checked this repeatedly). Well worth installing. I’m guessing there’s an Apple version as well.

Matt de Neef

Good tip Lauren, cheers!

JBS

Another (cheapskate) option is to dummy up an image with you ICE details and set that as your lock screen wallpaper. That way the details are front and centre as soon as the screen wakes up, no need to unlock the phone.

I was hit by a car and had some serious physical damage done by the at-fault driver. A legal firm were recommended to me to try to obtain further damage compensation for my injuries from the TAC, at usual no-win no-cost arrangements. I decided not to proceed for various reasons, though the potential award of thousands if not tens of thousands was tempting.

I’d be interested to hear if anyone has had a successful court action against the TAC? To be clear, in my case the legal firm recommended taking on the TAC for a compensation payout as my injuries were serious and have had long-term consequences (as for example a pianist who loses a finger and so loses a career is deserving of compensation for loss of potential earnings). The lawyer I spoke with — not a fan of the TAC at all — said that they’re notoriously tight with compensation, and in his opinion they shouldn’t be. Not sure if he meant that just in relation to cyclists or to everyone?

John R

Thanks Matt for this article. Three years ago I was in the middle of an Elwood round-a-bout (8am) when hit from the left by a driver who said, “I just didn’t see you”. To his credit there was no issue about his insurance replacing my destroyed $7K bike. Ambulance to hospital and 2 operations and a crushed T11 spinal fracture later, I will always have ongoing pain. Fantastic bystanders and the TAC were helpful. It hasn’t stopped me riding but I’m always waiting for the next “event”. I’d always thought wearing bright colours (yellow) in the daytime were worthwhile but I’ve come to the conclusion if the driver isn’t looking or is distracted, the colour you’re wearing will make no difference.

j watt

Here”s the other side of the coin, I’m an experienced cyclist who made a stupid mistake at a crossing after missinterpreting a turning green light and rode into the path of a car. to shorten the story the $1000 damage I did to the car I was obliged to pay , no third party property insurance because I’m not a vehicle. I’m a cycling aust. licence holder and fortunately my claim thru them was accepted but only by proving that I was in a training session under a qualified coach. There was an excess of about $300.This has now changed to $1000. The point being, if you drive a car and cause damage or injury ,insurance is more than likely available, however if you switch vehicle and become a cyclist and cause considerable damage where do you turn to help pay the costs.

jules

join your state bicycle association

Arfy

I have to agree about wearing bright colours, especially in the middle of busy traffic. Drivers just have too many other things to look at, most much bigger than me on my bike. These days I only ride with flashing front and rear lights, as drivers are more inclined to turn their head when they see a flashing light in their peripheral vision. It doesn’t always help though, such as the silly girl who opened her door into the bike lane in front of me on St Kilda Esplanade this week who protested when I said “Thanks for not looking!” with “But I did see you!” … WTF?!? Some days I just want an idiot detector.

ed

A few years back in Chatswood I wad assaulted by a driver who got out of his car at the traffic lights. The driver drove off through a red light when people got out of their cars to assist. Police came, witnesses gave statements but then the police didn’t take it anywhere as the driver said I started it & the witnesses couldn’t confirm or deny as at that stage they weren’t paying attention. I really thought I was dealing with chief wiggam from the Simpsons. The guys from orbea replaced my catlike helmet for free which was damaged.

Ash

This just shows the that accidents do happen unfortunately.
That’s why I have income protection insurance to cover me if I am off work work due to a serious accident, it even covers me if I have an accident racing on the bike.
Perhaps its something more cyclists should look at, all the guys I ride are covered. It would only make then pain worse to know the motorist isn’t going to pay for a new bike, and then your income is also in jeopardy due a long lay off.

Strictly B Grade

Good article; you often don’t learn the pitfalls until you’ve
been in this unfortunate situation.

I had a crash a couple of years ago; the driver involved was
very apologetic at the time so I didn’t bother with getting witnesses; when he
contacted me a few days later he’d changed his tune.

Another tip is if you’re looking to claim Osteo or Physio
visits from your Cycling Victoria insurance – and really if you’ve been knocked
off your bike or hit a car then you’ll probably need a few – you need to get a
Doctor’s referral to be eligible for claims.

Liam

Thanks for the timely article. If you are in a fit state to do so, try to get the drivers correct details even if the police do attend. From my recent experience (Victoria) the police will NOT make the collision report available to you after the event without an FOI claim. This is incredibly frustrating when you know all the details, including the driver’s and witness’ names and contacts are recorded but not available to you to even lodge a claim in the first place.

Ian

I posted a reply earlier, but it’s disappeared. I’ll do the short version. I’m also a Victorian resident. Hit by a car earlier this year. Driver didn’t stop. Police attended. I was lucky enough to get the rego. Police told me only my insurer could get a copy of the accident report. That turned out to be wrong. Log onto the Vic Police website and go to our services/accident records. Download the form, pay $45 and you get a very detailed report in about 10 days, including full name and address of the driver and confirmation of the fixed penalty notice he received. Makes a great attachment to your letter of demand :)

Liam

Thanks Ian. That’s very helpful. Am on to it.

Van Jealous

Agree with getting police report, witness, videos etc. I recall an accident many years ago. The driver was very apologetic and agreed it was her fault. When I spoke to her the next day and I can still recall her words: ‘I’ve been speaking to my lawyer and he says its your fault….’. I put it down to being young and dumb. Trust but verify!

lastmile

Re “Get a quote for any damages to your bike”. Please make an attempt to wash any blood off the bike before dropping it off at your LBS for assessment. We had one customer come straight by after a run in with a bus and the blood was still wet!

OverIt

I’m going through the whole process now after being knocked off a 2 weeks ago. Driver at fault, by failing to give way at an intersection….anyway…

People should be aware that TAC has an excess (at present it’s $584) ie they wont cover for treatment that costs LESS than this, which in my case might be the case, as although I have a back injury to L4-3 it’s healing well. Unless the physio is nice enough to string it out, but the what happens if the claim is rejected???

So in the end I’m going to lose $$ in this, paying for treatment. And the drivers insurance company said they apply depreciation to the bike, so I doubt it’s going to really work out in my favour.

NOTE to self and others… GET YOUR OWN COVER!! :)

martinandlerda

Greetings! Very helpful advice in this particular post! It is the little changes that make the most important changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!

William

Yes, that is helpful.
Last week, one of my customers who is a member of a cycling club just got killed by the car crash, we still talked with each other yesterday, however, he just gone on second day, just gone without any sign…

Mark

Or you could do what I did: lie on the road with a broken spine, pelvis, hip, ribs and internal bleeding…and swear…(and hope that, like in my case, the guy who walked past was a paramedic and that you crashed 1km from the Ambulance).
I am not sure if it is mentioned anywhere in the article or comments but you apparently can’t represent yourself for claims against the TAC…despite the claim being straight forward.
Also…some insurance companies want evidence that the damaged clothes you are claiming for actually existed. They will be in a hospital bin.
Overall I think this excellent article neglected to cover the fact that you may not be able to do anything when the accident happens, although if my experience is anything to go by, there is a great deal of support if you are in a serious situation.

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